CHILLICOTHE — If you’ve ever been to a dive pub in Florida, that’s Castaways — and we mean that with a full sense of respect and approval.

You know how some places force kitsch? Castaways is legitimately kitschy, with a tiki/flip-flop theme that makes perfect sense of mismatched place settings. The joint is weathered but reasonably tidy, though a whiff of mildew wafted about during our visit.

The atmosphere is so casual as to allow a level of relaxation that customers felt comfortable with frequent four-letter descriptives. This sort of language doesn’t much bother Dining Out, but might cause consternation to Great Aunt Tilly.

Castaways’ menu focuses on appetizers, sandwiches and pizza — about a zillion offerings of each. The app and sandwich choices are pretty standard, but — as far as bar food goes — you likely will find anything you can imagine. Meanwhile, the pizza selections include multiple non-traditional pies, including Mediterranean (spinach-and-artichoke dip, chicken, green olives) and white spinach (spinach, feta and mozzarella cheese, white garlic ranch sauce). And the BLT pizza has mayo.

The star of the show, though, is the “O Burger.” Ground beef is added to any wide range of what you’d normally call toppings: American cheese, pickles, pineapple and plenty more. Then it’s breaded and deep-fried, coming out about the size of a softball.

It adds an interesting texture and taste — if not health benefits — to a standard burger. I’d ordered a cheddar deluxe version ($7.89), which is supposed to include cheddar cheese, green peppers, onion, bacon and mushrooms. A few minutes after I started in, our server — smiley and attentive throughout our lunch — discovered and revealed that I’d been given the wrong O Burger, so I’d be charged at half-price. That was appreciated; however, the version I got had two toppings of some sort, and it was pretty dry. I’ve had these before — the Italian is especially good — and they’re usually much more gooey and succulent. On the side came chips from a bag, which were all right.

My wife went with a new item, the California chicken sandwich ($7.29). The grilled chicken breast was juicy, though the spinach-and-artichoke dip overwhelmed the sandwich, which also included bacon and Swiss cheese. On the side, the tater tots were awesome, because that’s how tater tots are.

But that spinach-and-artichoke dip is fantastic as, well, a dip. As an appetizer, the triple dip ($8.79) was massive, also including cheese sauce (good) and salsa (fresh). The homemade chips are like fluffy, pastry pillows, while the corn chips were Tostito-quality.

For dessert, we split a skillet cookie ($5.99). Nothing fancy: just cookie, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream — but more than satisfying.

Page 2 of 2 - We’ll be back. We’ve long liked the place. And if our next order is correct, we’ll be even happier.

Phil Luciano can be reached at 686-3155, or pluciano@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @LucianoPhil.